A new study from the Imperial College London and eToro claims that cryptocurrencies are not only nearing mainstream adoption, but also the “next step” for money.

‘Cryptocurrencies Have Already Made Significant Headway’

Bitcoin is already being used as both a store of value and speculative investment. Soon, it may become a viable means of payment.

As noted by Independent, Imperial College London’s Professor William Knottenbelt claims:

The world of cryptocurrency is evolving as rapidly as the considerable collection of confusing terminology that accompanies it. These decentralised technologies have the potential to upend everything we thought we knew about the nature of financial systems and financial assets.

He continued:

There’s a lot of scepticism over cryptocurrencies and how they could ever become a day-to-day payment system used by the man on the street. In this research we show that cryptocurrencies have already made significant headway towards fulfilling the criteria for becoming a widely accepted method of payment.

Holding Bitcoin back, of course, its issues with its scalability. As it stands right now, Bitcoin transactions can take hours to process, and the value of the asset can either increase or decrease significantly during that span. However, second-layer solutions like Bitcoin’s Lightning Network aim to resolve these issues, while younger cryptocurrencies are already aware of the need for speed.

‘The Next Natural Step’

Like any emerging technology, Bitcoin and its brethren still need some room to grow. Dr. Zeynep Gurguc from Imperial College London noted:

New payment systems – or asset classes – do not emerge overnight but it is worth noting that the concept of money has evolved – even in our lifetime – from cash to digital or contactless payments. The wider use of cryptocurrencies and crypto-assets is the next natural step if they successfully overcome the six challenges [scalabili...

With a battery, you'll be able to carry your Turpial (smallest #mesh node device, look the size comparison with a SD card adapter). This would let anyone text &amp; transmit #Bitcoin txs even if there...

Coinstar's initiative to support buying bitcoin at 20,000 locations in the US is facing mixed reviews days after it launched as users complain about high Coinstar's initiative to support buying bitcoi...

AN ADORABLE newspaper ad asking for Bitcoin donations toward a newborn baby's university fund has clocked up a staggering £3,000 in just two weeks. More than 300 strangers have chipped in with anonymo...

Earlier this week, the Zimbabwe government decided to shut down the internet in the African nation. This decision was precipitated by a governmental fear over increasing street protests. However, this...

One of the biggest dreams of the cryptocurrency community is to use Bitcoins to pay for online shopping, not just on any other website but on Amazon (the world’s largest e-commerce store). Now we don’...

Bitcoin celebrates its tenth birthday this year and after a decade on this earth, it still provides conversation, debate and most importantly - money. However, the economic impact has been dwindling...